Trending Now - Pope Leo XIV Issues Historic Apology for Vatican’s Slavery Ties
WHO:
NBC News - Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope, whose family history includes both enslaved people and slave owners.
NBC News - Rev. Christopher J. Kellerman, a Jesuit priest and author of “All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Catholic Church.”
WHAT:
NBC News - Pope Leo XIV's encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” addresses the need to safeguard humanity in an era of increasing reliance on artificial intelligence.
NBC News - Leo raised concerns about new forms of slavery and colonialism fueled by the digital revolution, specifically mentioning the unregulated labor required to procure rare minerals for AI chips.
AllHipHop - Pope Leo XIV publicly apologized for the Holy See's direct role in legitimizing slavery through papal bulls.
NBC News - The apology was made in Leo's first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity).
NBC News - Leo described the Vatican’s record on slavery as a “wound in Christian memory.”
NBC News - Leo stated, “It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord.”
NBC News - The Vatican formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery in 2023 but did not rescind the papal bulls.
WHERE:
NBC News - The apology was delivered by Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican.
WHEN:
NBC News - The encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” was released on a Monday.
WHY:
NBC News - The apology responded to decades of calls by Black American Catholics, activists, and scholars for the Holy See to atone for its role in the colonial-era trade in human beings.
NBC News - Leo raised the trans-Atlantic slave trade in relation to new forms of slavery and colonialism fueled by the digital revolution.
HOW:
NBC News - Leo stated, “Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the church came to denounce the scourge of slavery.”
NBC News - Pope Leo XIV acknowledged the Holy See’s role and the 15th-century papal bulls that authorized the enslavement of non-Christians.
NBC News - Leo stated that the church has long affirmed the dignity of every human being, “even if it took eighteen centuries for its full incompatibility with slavery to be explicitly recognized.”
(UPDATED May 25, 2026 23:16 UTC)
Pope Leo XIV has released an encyclical titled “Magnifica Humanitas,” emphasizing the urgent need to protect humanity as our reliance on artificial intelligence grows. In his address, he raised serious concerns about new forms of slavery and colonialism that are emerging from the digital revolution, particularly highlighting the unregulated labor involved in obtaining rare minerals for AI chips. Leo acknowledged the slow response from both society and the church in addressing the issue of slavery, stating, “Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the church came to denounce the scourge of slavery.”
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(UPDATED May 25, 2026 17:26 UTC)
Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope, has publicly apologized for the Holy See's role in legitimizing slavery through papal bulls in his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.” In this heartfelt message delivered in the Vatican, Leo described the Vatican’s record on slavery as a “wound in Christian memory” and expressed deep sorrow for the suffering endured by countless individuals, emphasizing their dignity as beloved by the Lord. This apology comes in response to decades of calls from Black American Catholics, activists, and scholars for the church to atone for its historical involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism.